Dennis Rodman has checked into an undisclosed alcohol rehabilitation centre to treat his long-time struggle with alcoholism, his agent says.

Darren Prince declined on Saturday to say which facility will treat Rodman and how long he will be there. Rodman recently returned to the United States from his latest trip to North Korea.

He later apologized for comments he made in North Korea about a detained American missionary, saying he had been drinking and was under pressure as he organized an exhibition game there. He also sang “Happy Birthday” to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the start of the friendly game.

“What was potentially a historic and monumental event turned into a nightmare for everyone concerned,” Prince said. “Dennis Rodman came back from North Korea in pretty rough shape emotionally. The pressure that was put on him to be a combination ‘super human’ political figure and ‘fixer’ got the better of him.

“He is embarrassed, saddened and remorseful for the anger and hurt his words have caused.”

Rodman won five NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls and was one of the NBA’s fiercest rebounders and most colorful personalities. Detroit selected Rodman in the second round of the 1986 draft out of Southeastern Oklahoma. The native of Trenton, N.J., also played for Chicago, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in of 2011.

He stamped his name on “Dennis Rodman — The original Bad Ass Premium Vodka,” late last year. It was in the works before his relations with North Korea, but has taken off since.

Rodman, known as much for his piercings, tattoos and bad behaviour as he was for basketball, was the highest-profile American to meet Kim since Kim inherited power from father Kim Jong-il in 2011. He travelled to the secretive state for the first time last February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television.

But the 52-year-old Rodman has been denounced for not trying to use his influence with Kim to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary with health problems who is being held in North Korea on charges of “anti-state” crimes.

He organized a group of retired NBA players to travel to North Korea for that exhibition game. Rodman dedicated the contest to his “best friend” Kim, who along with his wife and other senior officials and their wives watched from a special seating area. The capacity crowd of about 14,000 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium clapped loudly as Rodman sang a verse from the song.

Rodman had an angry meltdown before the game on CNN, defending his decision to travel to North Korea.

“People forget Dennis is just an entertainer and retired NBA star,” Prince said. “The fact remains that a basketball game was played in North Korea live in front of 14,000 people and hundreds of millions around the world viewed clips of the game.”

LONDON — While critical of Dennis Rodman’s trips to North Korea, incoming NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the former all-star also helped raise awareness of leader Kim Jong-un’s “repressive regime.”

Rodman took a group of retired NBA players to the pariah state this month to play a game as a gift for Kim, a move criticized by some members of the U.S. Congress, human rights groups and the NBA.

Rodman, the highest-profile American to meet Kim, has stressed he is not a statesman and is only seeking to build cultural ties between Pyongyang and Washington through basketball.

But the 52-year-old Rodman has been denounced for not trying to use his influence with Kim to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary with health problems who is being held in North Korea on charges of “anti-state” crimes.

Although Rodman has been accused of becoming a public relations tool for North Korea’s government, Silver regards the publicity from the trips helping to shine a light on a country with a poor human rights record.

“As negative as that trip was in so many ways it also brought attention to a critical issue in North Korea that … most Americans hadn’t focused on at all in terms of a repressive regime,” Silver said on Thursday in London ahead of a game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks.

At the start of the Jan. 8 game in Pyongyang, Rodman sang “Happy Birthday” to Kim, who was seated at the stadium, and bowed deeply as North Korean players clapped.

Silver, who succeeds David Stern as commissioner on Feb. 1, said the NBA persuaded some former players not to participate in the game.

“We did talk directly with certain other players who decided not to go,” Silver said after appearing at a meeting organized by the Sport Industry Group.

“In terms of any damage done to the NBA, we don’t think there was any damage done to the NBA … the fact basketball happens to be very popular in North Korea I don’t think is a negative for our league.

“And it just demonstrates that it’s not just basketball but all sports bring tremendous opportunities.”

Kim Kwang Hyon/The Associated PressDennis Rodman bows to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, seated above in the stands, before an exhibition basketball game with U.S. and North Korean players.

And, with the Nets owned by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, the NBA is looking beyond the U.S. for more investment in franchises.

Stern said there are discussions with investors from China, Latin America and the Middle East, in particular those in oil-rich United Arab Emirates whose “connection to the governing families is quite close.”

Efforts to grow the NBA beyond U.S. shores in Britain have been limited, despite Thursday’s regular-season game at the O2 Arena being the fourth in four years at the venue.

In terms of any damage done to the NBA, we don’t think there was any damage done to the NBA … the fact basketball happens to be very popular in North Korea I don’t think is a negative for our league

While acknowledging that “football is king” in England, the NBA feels that its efforts to intensify interest have not been matched by a commitment from the government and local groups to promote the game and build facilities.

Silver described the club infrastructure as being “not on a par” with other basketball nations.

“We would have thought there would have been more growth,” Silver said.

“For whatever reason basketball hasn’t caught on here,” he added. “And I think there has been an absence of leadership and we have to fill the vacuum.”

Having expected a strong basketball legacy from the 2012 London Olympics, the NBA was disappointed the chance was not grasped.

“I would say lost opportunity rather than wasted opportunity — every government has their priorities but given how popular a venue [basketball] was during the Olympics, it should have been the launching pad for additional things happening,” Silver said. “There are all kinds of reasons why governments should be getting behind the sport.”

Stern went further, saying: “I know the debate about physical activity in schools, but if you shut down the gyms you can’t have basketball games.”

BEIJING — Former basketball star Dennis Rodman apologized on Monday for not being able to help an American missionary detained in North Korea while he played there to celebrate the birthday of his friend and leader Kim Jong-un.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything,” Rodman told media on his arrival at Beijing airport from a weeklong trip. “It’s not my fault. I’m sorry. I just want to do some good stuff, that’s all I want to do.”

He said he would return to North Korea next month, but gave no details.

Rodman and the squad of retired NBA players he took to North Korea for an exhibition game marking Kim’s birthday have met with criticism in the U.S. because of North Korea’s human rights record and its development of nuclear weapons.

Acknowledging the controversy surrounding the trip, one of the players, Charles D. Smith, said Rodman “opened the door and he did some missteps along the way.”

In an interview in Beijing, Smith said Rodman’s singing of “Happy Birthday” to Kim before the exhibition game at a Pyongyang stadium was something that he alone had decided to do. “I think that it might not have been the right thing to do, but he did it … if it was done in private it would be different, but when it’s done in the open like that, people are going to have opinions.”

During the trip, Rodman was also slammed for not using his influence with Kim to help free Kenneth Bae, the missionary in poor health who has been detained for more than a year for “anti-state crimes.” Rodman apologized last week for comments he made in a CNN interview implying Bae was at fault, saying he had been drinking and was upset because some of his teammates were under pressure to leave.

Smith said the controversy surrounding Bae was a “bad situation” that “overshadowed some of the things that we were doing.”

“Dennis is not a member of the State Department, he is not a member of the UN,” Smith said. “For them to put the flag in his hands and say go and negotiate and talk about it, he probably would have made it worse, you know.”

Alexander F. Yuan/The Associated PressFormer NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman is followed by journalists as he arrives at the Capital International Airport in Beijing from Pyongyang, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014.

He said North Korean officials had invited the team back “at any given time.”

On Monday, Rodman reiterated that his trip was one of goodwill.

“This is not a bad deal,” he said. “I want to show people that no matter what’s going on in the world, for one day, just one day, no politics, not all that stuff.

“I’m sorry for all the people and what’s going on, I’m sorry,” he continued. “I’m not the president, I’m not an ambassador, I’m just an individual that wants to show the world the fact that we can actually get along and be happy for one day.”

Rodman and Kim struck up a friendship when the basketball-player-turned-celebrity first travelled to the secretive state last year.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/dennis-rodman-apologizes-for-not-helping-detained-u-s-missionary-during-north-korea-trip-says-its-not-my-fault/feed0stdFormer US basketball player Dennis Rodman (C) arrives at Beijing International Airport from North Korea on January 13, 2014. Rodman returned to China from Pyongyang after a seven-day trip where he sang "Happy birthday to you!" to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on January 8.Alexander F. Yuan/The Associated PressAndy Wong/The Associated PressDennis Rodman Dear Diary: Kim Jong-un and I both know that, ‘Hey, it’s okay to be different’http://news.nationalpost.com/news/dennis-rodman-dear-diary-kim-jong-un-and-i-both-know-that-hey-its-okay-to-be-different
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/dennis-rodman-dear-diary-kim-jong-un-and-i-both-know-that-hey-its-okay-to-be-different#commentsSat, 11 Jan 2014 00:19:56 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=412932

The National Post re-imagines a week in the life of a newsmaker. Today, Tristin Hopper looks at the week through the eyes of former NBA player and Kim Jong-un buddy Dennis Rodman.

Monday
I’ll be the first to admit that the last few years have been tough for Dennis Rodman. Alcohol abuse, failed marriages, botched promotional deals. But all that’s behind me, because I have finally found my true purpose. Not sport, it turns out, but international understanding. Ten thousand years from now, people won’t remember me as a professional wrestler, an actor, an author, an entrepreneur, a style icon, a Hall of Famer or a Chicago Bull. No, they’ll remember a man — a simple man — who did his part to promote peace and coexistence between global brothers.

Tuesday
It constantly amazes me how much me and Kim have in common. We both love basketball, for one, and we each have nicknames. My fans call me The Worm. Kim’s people call him “Dear Leader, who is a perfect incarnation of the appearance that a leader should have.” There are differences, of course. I never knew my father, while Kim’s father was a revered, godlike ruler in command of one of the world’s largest armies. I grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Kim spent his youth being secretly shuttled through a network of international private schools. But above it all, we’re our own men, Kim and I. My whole thing is about, “hey, it’s okay to be different.” Same with Kim. When people get on his case, be they the President or Amnesty International or whatever, he’s all like “screw you, I’ll do what I want.”

Wednesday
Can anyone tell me how America got so closed-minded? Here I am, a humble athlete trying to promote peace and coexistence and even my own black president calls me a traitor. Hey, every country has problems. Do I agree with the 200,000 political prisoners in North Korean prison camps? Largely no. Do I support Kim executing his uncle? Sort of, but what would you do if you had a bunch of counterrevolutionary factionalists getting up in your business? But are North Korea’s brutal oppression and aggressive militarism really reasons to avoid them, to sever diplomatic ties, to not sell them nuclear material, to undermine their national fate to develop weapons that can destroy their imperialist enemies at a burst? I wish I had all the answers.

Thursday
If only Obama could see the North Korea I see: The world’s foremost manufacturer of Vinylon, the world’s leading proponent of Juche philosophy and a global beacon of fish preservation technology. And the people! Here, instead of ragging on your tattoos or clothing choices, people stand in perfect unison and repeatedly scream “live 10,000 years!” whenever you walk into a room. And the service! Just this morning, some woman at the hotel wasn’t getting me another rum and Coke, so, completely naked, I staggered down to the lobby to complain. In America, they’d probably call TMZ, but here: Boom, in 10 minutes, the woman’s gone, and some guy in a suit is telling me I’ll “never have to worry about her again.” You know what it is I dig about this place? Respect. North Koreans have respect.

Friday
This morning, my minders quickly shook me out of bed, shouted at me to get dressed and quickly whisked me off to a marble building on the city’s edge, where Kim had summoned me for a surprise meeting. “Dennis,” he said as we strolled through the cavernous structure, “under my steady leadership, we will soon expel the imperialist puppet masters and gloriously reunite with our South Korean comrades. When that day comes, you and I will dine together in Seoul.” He told me he was going to tear down the South Korean National Assembly Building and build the world’s largest basketball court and have it overseen by none other than a towering statue of me, his “very best amicable lovely friend.” Tears coming to my eyes, I wrapped the big guy in a hug. Man, there are some ignorant people out there who think Kim is some kind of warlord, but if only they could hear what I hear: Unification? Harmony? Tell me those aren’t the words of a lover, not a fighter.

Dennis Rodman’s agent says the former NBA star did not take any payment from the North Korean government during his trip this week to the country.

Darren Prince says the North Korean government did not finance any part of the trip, adding that Irish betting company, Paddy Power PLC, covered expenses for Rodman and his team of former NBA players that included Charles D. Smith, Kenny Anderson and Cliff Robinson.

NBA Commissioner David Stern told CNN this week that Rodman was influenced by “a flash of North Korean money” to stage an exhibition game in Pyongyang.

Rodman apologized Thursday for comments he made in North Korea about a detained American missionary, saying he had been drinking and was under pressure as he organized the game. He also sang “Happy Birthday” to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the start of the friendly game.

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Rodman dedicated the game to his “best friend” Kim, who along with his wife and other senior officials and their wives watched from a special seating area. The capacity crowd of about 14,000 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium clapped loudly as Rodman sang a verse from the song.

Rodman said he was honoured to be able to play the game in the North Korean capital and called the event “historic.” Some members of the U.S. Congress, the NBA and human rights groups, however, say he has become a public relations tool for North Korea’s government.

Prince also said that an England-based production company, Chief Productions, filmed the North Korea trip for a documentary, and another outfit, Koryo Tours, sold VIP packages to the game and will make a donation to a children’s charity in North Korea this month with a portion of the proceeds.

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Dennis Rodman apologized Thursday for comments he made in North Korea about a detained American missionary, saying he had been drinking and was under pressure as he organized a game with former NBA players.

The former basketball star issued the apology through publicist Jules Feiler in an email message to The Associated Press, a day after he sang “Happy Birthday” to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the start of the friendly game.

Rodman has been slammed for not using his influence with Kim to help free Kenneth Bae, the missionary in poor health who is being confined in North Korea for “anti-state” crimes. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Rodman implied Bae was at fault.

“I want to apologize,” Rodman said Thursday. “I take full responsibility for my actions. It had been a very stressful day. Some of my teammates were leaving because of pressure from their families and business associates. My dreams of basketball diplomacy was quickly falling apart. I had been drinking. It’s not an excuse but by the time the interview happened I was upset. I was overwhelmed. It’s not an excuse, it’s just the truth.”

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Rodman said he wanted to apologize first to Bae’s family. “I’m very sorry. At this point I should know better than to make political statements. I’m truly sorry.”

Bae’s sister, Terri Chung, said his family couldn’t believe what Rodman had said in the interview.

“Here’s somebody who is in a position to do some good for Kenneth and refuses to do so,” Chung told KOMO Radio in Seattle on Wednesday. “And then after the fact, instead, he decides to hurl these unqualified accusations against Kenneth. It’s clear he has no idea what he’s talking about. I’m not sure who he’s talking to, where he’s getting his information, but he’s certainly no authority on Kenneth Bae.”

The U.S. State Department distanced itself from Rodman and said it did not want to “dignify” his activities or comments in Pyongyang by commenting on them. But spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the department was open to speaking with Rodman on his return.

“We have not reached out to him. We’ve said before, if he wants to reach out to us, we’re happy to hear from him and what he has to say,” she told reporters.

Rodman dedicated the game to his “best friend” Kim, who along with his wife and other senior officials and their wives watched from a special seating area. The capacity crowd of about 14,000 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium clapped loudly as Rodman sang a verse from the birthday song and then bowed deeply to Kim, seated above him in the stands.

Rodman said he was honoured to be able to play the game in the North Korean capital and called the event “historic.” Some members of the U.S. Congress, the NBA and human rights groups, however, say he has become a public relations tool for North Korea’s government.

KCNA/AFP/Getty ImagesThis photo taken on January 8, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, front right, photographed with former U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman, front left, and other former NBA players at Pyongyang Gymnasium in Pyongyang.

The government’s poor human rights record and its threats to use nuclear weapons against rival South Korea and the United States have kept it a pariah state. Kim shocked the world in December by having his uncle, once considered his mentor, executed after being accused of a litany of crimes including corruption, womanizing, drug abuse and attempting to seize power.

Rodman has refused to address those concerns while continuing to forge a relationship with Kim.

Rodman is the highest-profile American to meet Kim, who inherited power after the death of his father in late 2011. Rodman has said he is not a statesman and instead is seeking only to build cultural connections with the North through basketball that may help improve relations between Pyongyang and Washington.

Along with Rodman, the former NBA players included ex-All Stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker. Also on the roster were Craig Hodges, Doug Christie, Charles D. Smith and four streetballers.

The sister of a Washington man imprisoned in North Korea says she’s worried that Dennis Rodman, who is in the country to celebrate the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un, is hurting efforts to free her brother.

Terri Chung said Wednesday his family couldn’t believe what Dennis Rodman has said about Kenneth Bae.

“Clearly, he’s uninformed and doesn’t know anything about Kenneth or his detainment. I don’t think he has any authority to speak or pass judgment on Kenneth, certainly,” Chung said.

In a CNN interview Tuesday, Rodman said he refused to discuss Bae with North Korean leaders and implied Bae may deserve his punishment. Rodman and other former NBA players played in an exhibition game Wednesday in Pyongyang and Rodman sang a verse from a birthday song to Kim.

Bae’s family has tried to reach Rodman or his agent in the past without success, Chung said.

“He made it clear he doesn’t want to help. My concern is he’s hurting the cause,” she said. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Bae, 45, was arrested in November 2012 while leading a tour group. He was accused of crimes against the state and sentenced to 15 years hard labor. He was moved to a hospital last summer in poor health.

The State Department has told the family it’s doing everything it can, but Chung is not aware of anything in the works.

Bae was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States in 1985 with his parents and sister. He attended the University of Oregon and lived in the Seattle suburb of Lynnwood, where his mother, Myunghee Bae, now lives. Chung lives in nearby Edmonds.

Bae was allowed to call home on Dec. 29 because of the holidays, Chung said.

It was the first time his three children from an earlier marriage have spoken to him, she said. He has two in Arizona and another in Hawaii, ages 17, 22 and 23, Chung said.

Before his arrest, Bae lived in China for seven years with his wife and stepdaughter. He ran a tour business and led 18 trips to North Korea, Chung said.

“He worked there legally. He had official permission to be there. He had business relations,” she said.

I’m afraid his Christian faith has been deemed hostile against the state

Nothing was amiss until his arrest, apparently related to his religion, she said.

“He is a man of faith and I’m afraid his Christian faith has been deemed hostile against the state,” Chung said.

The family is concerned about his health as well as his freedom. He has diabetes, an enlarged heart and a back injury that prevents him for standing more than 30 minutes at a time. They’re glad he’s in the hospital, rather than the labor camp, but want him released.

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Dennis Rodman sang “Happy Birthday” to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before leading a squad of former NBA stars in a friendly game Wednesday as part of his “basketball diplomacy” that has been criticized in the United States as naive and laughable.

Rodman dedicated the game to his “best friend” Kim, who along with his wife and other senior officials and their wives watched from a special seating area. The capacity crowd of about 14,000 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium clapped loudly as Rodman sang a verse from the birthday song.

Rodman said he was honoured to be able to play the game in the North Korean capital and called the event “historic.” Some members of the U.S. Congress, the NBA and human rights groups, however, say he has become a public relations tool for North Korea’s government.

The government’s poor human rights record and its threats to use nuclear weapons against rival South Korea and the United States have kept it a pariah state. Kim shocked the world in December by having his uncle, once considered his mentor, executed after being accused of a litany of crimes including corruption, womanizing, drug abuse and attempting to seize power.

Rodman, 52, has refused to address those concerns while continuing to forge a relationship with Kim, whose age has never been officially disclosed. The government did not say how old he turned Wednesday but he is believed to be in his early 30s.

National Post graphicsClick to enlarge and see full graphic.

At the start of the game, Rodman sang “Happy Birthday” to Kim, who was seated above in the stands at the stadium, and then bowed deeply as North Korean players clapped.

To keep it friendly, the Americans played against the North Koreans in the first half, but split up and merged teams for the second half.

The North Korean team scored 47 points to 39 for the Americans before the teams were mixed. Rodman played only in the first half and then sat next to Kim during the second half.

“A lot of people have expressed different views about me and your leader, your marshal, and I take that as a compliment,” Rodman told the crowd. “Yes, he is a great leader, he provides for his people here in this country and thank God the people here love the marshal.”

Rodman is the highest-profile American to meet Kim. He has carefully avoided getting involved in overtly political activities, saying that he is not a statesman and instead is seeking only to build cultural connections with the North through basketball that may help improve relations between Pyongyang and Washington.

Rodman has been slammed in particular for not using his influence with Kim to help free Kenneth Bae, an American missionary in poor health who is being confined in the North for “anti-state” crimes. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Rodman implied that Bae was at fault for being held captive.

Bae’s sister, Terri Chung, said his family couldn’t believe what Rodman said.

“Here’s somebody who is in a position to do some good for Kenneth and refuses to do so,” Chung told KOMO Radio in Seattle on Wednesday. “And then after the fact, instead, he decides to hurl these unqualified accusations against Kenneth. It’s clear he has no idea what he’s talking about. I’m not sure who he’s talking to, where he’s getting his information, but he’s certainly no authority on Kenneth Bae.”

The game is a new milestone in Rodman’s unusual relationship with Kim, who inherited power after the death of his father in late 2011 and rarely meets with foreigners. He remains a mystery to much of the outside world and until recently, his birthday was also not widely known, though it was quietly observed elsewhere around the capital Wednesday.

Along with Rodman, the former NBA players included ex-All Stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker. Also on the roster were Craig Hodges, Doug Christie, Charles D. Smith and four streetballers.

Members of the team, who average in their late 40s, said they came because they believed the game would be a good opportunity to create a human connection with the people of the isolated country. But some said they have been concerned by the negative reaction they have seen from the media and critics back home.

“This was a test of faith. We stepped out into the unknown,” said former New York Knicks player Smith, who has played similar games in other countries and has acted as the team’s spokesman to balance Rodman’s famously outspoken character.

Kim Kwang Hyon/The Associated PressDennis Rodman bows to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, seated above in the stands, after singing Happy Birthday to Kim before an exhibition basketball game with U.S. and North Korean players at an indoor stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014.

Smith said he was gratified to see the North Korean crowd enjoy the game, but he added that he had mixed emotions about the two-hour event.

“Emotionally, I don’t know what to feel,” he told The Associated Press afterward. “I’m indifferent. I’m not totally overjoyed.”

Kim Kwang Hyon/The Associated PressDennis Rodman tips his hat as U.S. and North Korean basketball players applaud at the end of an exhibition basketball game at an indoor stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. Behind him at right is former NBA player Vin Baker.

Smith said he and the other players did not join Rodman in singing the birthday song.

“We always tell Dennis that he can’t sing. He is tone deaf,” Smith said. “He did it alone.”

John Major / The Ottawa Citizen / Files

John Major / The Ottawa Citizen / FilesJoyce Fairbairn in 2009. Fairbairn was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and purportedly declared mentally incompetent in February, according to a letter from her niece to Senate leaders, although that declaration has not been made public

Chung Sung-Jun/Getty ImagesSouth Korean conservative protesters wear masks of a pig, symbolizing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) and former NBA player Dennis Rodman (R) during an anti-North Korea protest marking the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's birthday on January 8, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea.

Chung Sung-Jun/Getty ImagesA mask of former NBA player Dennis Rodman is seen during an anti-North Korea protest marking the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's birthday on January 8, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea.

MIAMI — Dennis Rodman’s latest trip to North Korea is generating no support from the NBA and the league’s retired players association, both of whom made it clear they had nothing to do with the venture.

Rodman took a group of about a half-dozen retired NBA players to North Korea this week for a game that’s intended to be a birthday present of sorts for Kim Jong-un, the nation’s leader who is expected to attend. Kim’s human rights record and North Korea’s history when it comes to developing nuclear weapons are widely criticized globally.

The National Basketball Retired Players Association “denounced” the trip and the scheduled Wednesday game.

“While we support international goodwill and diplomacy in instances deemed appropriate … it is important to clarify that the trip to North Korea led by Dennis Rodman and others was not sanctioned by the NBRPA and is not supported by our organization in any way,” said Otis Birdsong, the NBRPA’s chairman. “Under the right circumstances basketball can serve as a bridge to bring communities together, but these are not those circumstances.”

NBA Commissioner David Stern was clear, though diplomatic in his remarks about Rodman’s venture.

“The NBA is not involved with Mr. Rodman’s North Korea trip and would not participate or support such a venture without the approval of the U.S. State Department,” Stern said. “Although sports in many instances can be helpful in bridging cultural divides, this is not one of them.”

The State Department has recommended that U.S. citizens not try to enter North Korea, with at least six Americans — including two with valid visas issued by that country — having been arrested there since 2009.

Rodman has also been criticized for apparently not yet trying to use his access to North Korea as a method of helping secure the release of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary with health problems who is being held there on charges of “anti-state” crimes.

David Guttenfelder/The Associated PressA bottle of vodka with handmade illustrations of Rodman with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Rodman's name in Korean sits on the roof of a car outside a Pyongyang hotel on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014.

“You’ve got to be conscious and aware of what’s happening in the world,” said Miami guard Roger Mason Jr., the first vice-president of the National Basketball Players Association. “I mean, it’s the life we live. I don’t want to get too much into what Dennis is doing, but I’m certainly aware of it and it’s tricky when you mix playing the game of basketball with sensitive subjects like North Korea.”

Other players simply hoped the trip did not create even more problems.

“I think it comes from a good place,” Miami forward Shane Battier said. “Intentions are good. I don’t know if the execution is what they thought when they dreamt this initially. Hopefully some good things can come out of it.”

REUTERS/Jonathan BachmanA resident photographs a flooded area outside of the levee system along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

David Guttenfelder/The Associated PressDennis Rodman speaks with fellow U.S. basketball players during a team meeting at a Pyongyang, North Korea hotel Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014.

Kim Jong-un’s aunt — the estranged wife of Jang Song-thaek, who was executed last month — has either died of a heart attack or committed suicide, according to reports.

Kim Kyong-hui, previously a leading figure in the regime, is believed to have been ill for several years and was reportedly treated for cancer and travelled to Russia last month for treatment for a heart complaint. A source in the South Korean government was quoted in the Chosun Ilbo newspaper as saying that 67-year-old Mrs Kim had either died from a heart attack or committed suicide.

The Daily NK, a dissident newspaper based in Japan, reported that she left North Korea for medical treatment after suffering a heart attack brought on by stress because of Jang’s purge and execution.

Ms. Kim, the sister of the former leader Kim Jong-il, served as secretary for the party and held the rank of general in the Korean People’s Army.

She was last seen in public on September 10, and was absent from ceremonies to mark the second anniversary of the death of her brother on December 17.

“It would not come as a surprise if she is indeed dead,” Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo’s Waseda University and an authority on North Korean affairs, told The Daily Telegraph. “She is not well, she has been treated for cancer, and the alcoholism dates back about 30 years.”

It was not possible to verify reports of her death. There are frequent rumours surrounding North Korea’s elite — last week reports spread around the world that Jang had been executed by being thrown to a pack of starving dogs. It has since been shown that the story originated from a satirical post on a Chinese social networking site.

Meanwhile, the American former basketball player Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea on Monday with a team for an exhibition game on what is thought to be Kim Jong-un’s birthday tomorrow.

“The marshal is actually trying to change this country in a great way,” Rodman said of Mr Kim. “I think that people thought that this was a joke, and Dennis Rodman is just doing this because of fame and fortune.” Instead, he said, he saw the game as a “birthday present” for Mr Kim and his country.

Dennis Rodman is running into some conflict on his latest trip to North Korea.

The former NBA star went on a strange, angry rant in an interview when CNN’s Chris Cuomo asked Rodman about Kenneth Bae. Rodman has come under fire for not pushing for the release of the American imprisoned in North Korea on charges of committing “anti-state” crimes.

“If you understand what Kenneth Bae did. Do you understand what he did? In this country?” Rodman asks.

“You tell me. What’d he do?” Cuomo responds.

“No, no, no, no, no. You tell me. You tell me. Why is he held captive here in this country?” Rodman replies. He then gets increasingly agitated, raising his voice and cursing at Cuomo while lauding the team of former NBA players he brought with him for their sacrifices in service of Rodman’s so-called “basketball diplomacy.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what the hell you think,” Rodman screamed at Cuomo.

“You just basically were saying that Kenneth Bae did something wrong. We don’t even know what the charges are. Don’t use these guys as a shield for you, Dennis,” Cuomo says in response.

“We’re the guys here doing one thing. We have to go back to America and take the abuse. Do you have to take the abuse?” Rodman replies.

National Post graphicsClick to enlarge and see full graphic.

“One day this door is going to open.”

Rodman is also getting some resistance from his own team of ex-NBA players.

Former NBA star Charles D. Smith says he feels remorse for coming to Pyongyang with Rodman for a game on the North Korean leader’s birthday because the event has been dwarfed by politics and tainted by Rodman’s own comments.

Smith and other former NBA players are scheduled to play with Rodman against a team of North Koreans on Wednesday that organizers say leader Kim Jong-un is expected to attend. Many of the players on Tuesday privately expressed second thoughts about going ahead because of an outpouring of criticism back home in the United States.

Smith, who played for the New York Knicks, said the North Korea trip has been dwarfed by politics and Rodman’s frequent boasts about his close friendship with Kim.

“What we are doing is positive, but it is getting dwarfed by the other circumstances around it,” Smith told The Associated Press. “Apparently our message is not being conveyed properly due to the circumstances that are much bigger than us, and I think that has to do with politics and government.”

Rodman arrived in Pyongyang on Monday with seven former NBA players and four streetballers for the game on Kim’s birthday, believed to be his 31st. Along with Smith, the squad features ex-All Stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker.

David Guttenfelder/The Associated PressA bottle of vodka with handmade illustrations of Rodman with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Rodman's name in Korean sits on the roof of a car outside a Pyongyang hotel on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014.

The game would be another milestone in Rodman’s surprising relationship with basketball fan Kim, who rarely meets with outsiders and is possibly the world’s most mysterious leader. Rodman has called the game a “birthday present” for Kim but says he has received death threats for his repeated visits to this country and for calling Kim a “friend for life.”

“The way some of the statements and things that Dennis has said has tainted our efforts,” Smith said. “Dennis is a great guy, but how he articulates what goes on — he gets emotional and he says things that he’ll apologize for later.”

David Guttenfelder/The Associated PressDennis Rodman stands up to leave after he and fellow US basketball players completed a television interview at a Pyongyang, North Korea hotel Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014. Rodman came to the North Korean capital with a team of USA basketball stars for an exhibition game on Jan. 8, the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. From left to right are Cliff Robinson, Jerry Dupree, Charles D. Smith, unidentified, Vin Baker, Andre "Silk" Poole and Doug Christie.

Rodman is the highest-profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in late 2011. He travelled to the North for the first time last February and came back just before Christmas to hold tryouts for the North Korean basketball team, though he did not meet with Kim then.

The plan to hold the game has been criticized because of the North’s human rights record, its development of nuclear weapons and its threats to use them if a conflict breaks out with Washington or Seoul. Rodman, in particular, has been slammed for not trying to use his influence with Kim to secure Bae’s release.

Smith placed his arm around Rodman’s shoulder and a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm Rodman down during his interview with CNN.

REUTERS/Jonathan BachmanA resident photographs a flooded area outside of the levee system along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

“I feel bad for Dennis, I feel bad for the players,” Smith said afterward, adding that when he played for the United States in the 1988 Olympics he felt elation.

“I felt huge, I felt on top of the world. But I feel the reverse now,” he said. “I feel a lot of remorse for the guys because we are doing something positive, but it’s a lot bigger than us. We are not naive, we understand why things are being portrayed the way they are. We can’t do anything about that, if we could we would.

“We’re not skilled in those particular areas,” he added. “Dennis is definitely not skilled in those particular areas.”

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Dennis Rodman said Monday that a game he and other former National Basketball Association players are planning in North Korea will be a “birthday present” for one of their most unlikely fans: leader Kim Jong-un.

Rodman’s squad — featuring ex-All Stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker — will play against a team of North Koreans on Wednesday, which is believed to be Kim’s birthday. The former NBA players, who arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, also include Eric (Sleepy) Floyd, guard Doug Christie and Charles D. Smith, who played for the New York Knicks. Four streetballers are also on the squad.

Rodman told The Associated Press he was glad to be in North Korea for the game, though he said he has gotten death threats for his repeated visits. He said proceeds from the game would go to a charity for the deaf in North Korea.

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“The marshal is actually trying to change this country in a great way,” Rodman said of Kim, using the leader’s official title. “I think that people thought that this was a joke, and Dennis Rodman is just doing this because fame and fortune.” Instead, he said, he sees the game as a “birthday present” for Kim and his country.

“Just to even have us here, it’s an awesome feeling. I want these guys here to show the world, and speak about North Korea in a great light,” he said. “I hope people will have a different view about North Korea.”

The game will be another milestone in Rodman’s surprising relationship with Kim, who rarely meets with foreigners and about whom very little is known outside of North Korea. Rodman is the highest-profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in late 2011.

Rodman travelled to North Korea for the first time last February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series. After spending time together, Rodman called Kim a “friend for life” and came back just before Christmas to hold tryouts for the North Korean basketball team, though he did not meet with Kim then.

AP Photo/Kim Kwang HyonU.S. basketball player Jerry Dupree, center, uses a mobile camera to take a photograph as he and fellow players including former NBA player Vin Baker, right, arrive at the international airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014

Rodman has been given the red-carpet treatment on each of his trips, but visiting North Korea for any high-profile American is a political minefield. To keep the game itself friendly, the two sides will only play against each other in the first half, and then mix together in the second.

Americans are regarded as enemies in North Korea since the two countries never signed a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. Thousands of U.S. troops are still based in South Korea, and the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South is one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world.

Relations are also tense because of the North’s development of nuclear weapons and its threats to use them if a conflict breaks out with Washington or Seoul. Rodman has also been slammed for not trying to use his influence with Kim to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary with health problems who is being held in North Korea on charges of committing “anti-state” crimes.

To make the trip more complicated, Kim’s once-powerful uncle was recently executed for a long litany of alleged crimes, including trying to divide the regime and usurp power from Kim. Although that has generated speculation abroad about the regime’s unity, North Korean officials say the execution settled the issue and there is no instability.

Rodman, however, says none of that is his concern.

“I’m not a president, I’m not a politician, I’m not an ambassador,” he said before arriving. “I’m just an athlete and the reason for me to go is to bring peace to the world, that’s it. That’s all I want, no money. I want no money, no money.”

Former Knicks player Smith said he hopes the game will lead to better relations between the two countries.

“It’s new being here, but overall the concept is not new,” he said. “The team is made up of a lot of guys who really care, that’s the most important, it’s not about bringing dream-teamers. It’s about guys who are coming that want to be a part of this, that care, and really that care about humanity.”

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/north-korea-game-birthday-present-for-kim-jong-un-dennis-rodman-says-hell-put-country-in-a-great-light/feed0stdFormer NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman of the US (centre L) gestures as he has a drink while checking in for his flight to North Korea at Beijing's international airport on January 6, 2014AP Photo/Kim Kwang HyonDennis Rodman says basketball game in North Korea a 'birthday present' for Kim Jong-unhttp://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nba/dennis-rodman-says-basketball-game-in-north-korea-a-birthday-present-for-kim-jong-un
http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nba/dennis-rodman-says-basketball-game-in-north-korea-a-birthday-present-for-kim-jong-un#commentsMon, 06 Jan 2014 15:30:04 +0000http://sports.nationalpost.com/?p=207121

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Dennis Rodman said Monday that a game he and other former National Basketball Association players are planning in North Korea will be a “birthday present” for one of their most unlikely fans: leader Kim Jong-un.

Rodman’s squad — featuring former all-stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker — will play against a team of North Koreans on Wednesday, which is believed to be Kim’s birthday. The former NBA players, who arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, also include Eric (Sleepy) Floyd, guard Doug Christie and Charles D. Smith, who played for the New York Knicks. Four streetballers are also on the squad.

Rodman told The Associated Press he was glad to be in North Korea for the game, though he said he has gotten death threats for his repeated visits. He said proceeds from the game would go to a charity for the deaf in North Korea.

Kim Kwang Hyon/The Associated PressU.S. basketball player Jerry Dupree, centre, uses a mobile camera to take a photograph as he and fellow players including former NBA player Vin Baker, right, arrive at the international airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014.

“The marshal is actually trying to change this country in a great way,” Rodman said of Kim, using the leader’s official title. “I think that people thought that this was a joke, and Dennis Rodman is just doing this because fame and fortune.” Instead, he said, he sees the game as a “birthday present” for Kim and his country.

“Just to even have us here, it’s an awesome feeling. I want these guys here to show the world, and speak about North Korea in a great light,” he said. “I hope people will have a different view about North Korea.”

The game will be another milestone in Rodman’s surprising relationship with Kim, who rarely meets with foreigners and about whom very little is known outside of North Korea. Rodman is the highest-profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in late 2011.

Rodman travelled to North Korea for the first time last February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series. After spending time together, Rodman called Kim a “friend for life” and came back just before Christmas to hold tryouts for the North Korean basketball team, though he did not meet with Kim then.

Rodman has been given the red-carpet treatment on each of his trips, but visiting North Korea for any high-profile American is a political minefield. To keep the game itself friendly, the two sides will only play against each other in the first half, and then mix together in the second.

Handout
Page from the report on Vladimir Putin , 'Mr. Putin: The Life of a Galley Slave,' a dossier drawn up by Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and opposition politician. according to the report Putin jets back and forth in 58 planes and helicopters, uses a £50,000 lavatory with gold fittings and wears wristwatches worth a total of £400,000.

Americans are regarded as enemies in North Korea since the two countries never signed a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. Thousands of U.S. troops are still based in South Korea, and the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South is one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world.

Relations are also tense because of the North’s development of nuclear weapons and its threats to use them if a conflict breaks out with Washington or Seoul. Rodman has also been slammed for not trying to use his influence with Kim to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary with health problems who is being held in North Korea on charges of committing “anti-state” crimes.

HandoutPage from the report on Vladimir Putin , 'Mr. Putin: The Life of a Galley Slave,' a dossier drawn up by Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and opposition politician. according to the report Putin jets back and forth in 58 planes and helicopters, uses a £50,000 lavatory with gold fittings and wears wristwatches worth a total of £400,000.

To make the trip more complicated, Kim’s once-powerful uncle was recently executed for a long litany of alleged crimes, including trying to divide the regime and usurp power from Kim. Although that has generated speculation abroad about the regime’s unity, North Korean officials say the execution settled the issue and there is no instability.

Rodman, however, says none of that is his concern.

Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty ImagesFormer NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman of the US (C) walks past the media to check in for his flight to North Korea at Beijing's international airport on January 6, 2014.

“I’m not a president, I’m not a politician, I’m not an ambassador,” he said before arriving. “I’m just an athlete and the reason for me to go is to bring peace to the world, that’s it. That’s all I want, no money. I want no money, no money.”

Former Knicks player Smith said he hopes the game will lead to better relations between the two countries.

“It’s new being here, but overall the concept is not new,” he said. “The team is made up of a lot of guys who really care, that’s the most important, it’s not about bringing dream-teamers. It’s about guys who are coming that want to be a part of this, that care, and really that care about humanity.”

HandoutPage from the report on Vladimir Putin , 'Mr. Putin: The Life of a Galley Slave,' a dossier drawn up by Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and opposition politician. according to the report Putin jets back and forth in 58 planes and helicopters, uses a £50,000 lavatory with gold fittings and wears wristwatches worth a total of £400,000.

Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty ImagesFormer NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman of the US (C) jokes around while checking in for his flight to North Korea at Beijing's international airport on January 6, 2014.

Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty ImagesFormer NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman of the US (centre L) gestures as he has a drink while checking in for his flight to North Korea at Beijing's international airport on January 6, 2014.

Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty ImagesFormer NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman of the US (centre L) smiles as he prepares to check in for his flight to North Korea at Beijing's international airport on January 6, 2014.

Andy Wong/The Associated PressFormer NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman, centre, is surrounded by media as he arrives at the departure hall of Beijing International Capital Airport in Beijing Monday, Jan. 6, 2014.

Dennis Rodman has named a team of former NBA players to participate in an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Rodman leads a team that includes former NBA all-stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson, and Vin Baker. Craig Hodges, Doug Christie and Charles D. Smith are on the team, as well. They will play against a top North Korean Senior National team on Jan. 8, marking Kim Jong-un’s birthday.

Rodman is the highest profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power from his father in late 2011.

Rodman calls the game his version of “basketball diplomacy.”

“My previous travels have allowed me to feel the enthusiasm and warmth of fans,” Rodman said. “The positive memories and smiles on the faces of the children and families are a testament to the great efforts we have put into fulfilling our mission wherever we go voiding any politics. We are all looking forward to arriving in Pyongyang, meeting the citizens, visiting various charities and using the opportunity to develop new relationships that result in our annual return.”

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Rodman made his latest visit to North Korea shortly before Christmas to train the North Korean basketball team, though he did not meet with Kim. Rodman, known as much for his piercings, tattoos and bad behaviour as he was for basketball, travelled to the secretive state for the first time last February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television. Rodman has called Kim a “friend for life.”

Rodman said his trips would not be affected by the recent execution of Kim’s uncle.

Smith, who played for the New York Knicks, said he was looking forward to the game with Rodman.

“Dennis and I are total opposites but we work very well together,” Smith said. “Dennis is one of the few people I know that doesn’t just talk but actually lives a culturally diverse life. We have travelled everywhere together so I was not surprised with his first visit to North Korea.

Kim Kwang Hyon/The Associated PressFormer NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman and an interpreter look on during a basketball practice session in Pyongyang, North Korea on Friday, Dec. 20, 2013. Rodman selected the members of the North Korean team who will play in Pyongyang against visiting NBA stars on Jan. 8, 2014, the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“Cultural exchange is about sharing. Sharing ideas and thoughts on education, culture and life.”

Rodman has been criticized for not talking about North Korea’s human rights record, described as one of the world’s worst by activists, the U.S. State Department and North Korean defectors. The defectors have repeatedly testified about the government’s alleged use of indiscriminate killings, rapes, beatings and prison camps holding as many as 120,000 people deemed opponents of authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un, the third generation of his family to rule.

The story had all the elements of a Cold War thriller: a wealthy American businessman, Russian leadership at the highest levels, diplomatic intrigue and purloined jewels.

Regrettably, there was no romantic subplot. But if the movie rights on this are ever sold, that will be an easy addition to the script.

The mystery of Robert Kraft’s wayward Super Bowl ring was one of many odd places sports wandered into in 2013:

A suspect in Vancouver’s 2011 Stanley Cup riots was identified as a former Miss Congeniality beauty pageant winner; a top high school girls’ basketball team in Iowa featured four sets of sisters; ski star Lindsey Vonn was called off a New York red carpet at a Lincoln Center fashion gathering for a random drug test.

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The Tigers’ Torii Hunter missed a game because of an Achilles tendon injury caused by wearing dress shoes that were too tight; Jets coach Rex Ryan ran with the bulls in Pamplona, his team unable to run with the Bears, Broncos and Bengals; and the world’s oldest marathoner, Indian-born Fauju Singh, decided enough was enough and stopped running at 101.

“I will miss it,” he said.

Kraft’s saga begins in June in one of New York’s finest hotels. The owner of the New England Patriots is speaking at a gala where he is being honoured. He regales the guests by telling them how one of his Super Bowl rings wound up on display at the Kremlin.

Kraft says he was visiting St. Petersburg with a business delegation in 2005 when he was introduced to Vladimir Putin and showed the Russian president the diamond-encrusted ring.

D. Dipasupil/Getty ImagesFacing what he drolly called a "complicated international problem," Vladimir Putin, left, said he was ready to give New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft custom jewelry to compensate for the Super Bowl ring that some imply the Russian president pocketed.

“I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket,” Kraft said, as quoted by the New York Post. “And three KGB guys got around him and walked out.”

At the time, Kraft said it was a gift but would later say he wanted the ring back. The White House, he suggests, thought it best for him to say this was indeed a gift and not stir political relations.

Days later, the story shifts across the Atlantic. Putin is in London and his spokesman is asked about the Tale of the Ring. Dmitry Peskov tells The Associated Press he was there when Putin met Kraft. Peskov dismisses the entire episode as a matter better suited for a “detailed talk with psychoanalysts.”

Or comedians.

Kraft spokesman Stacey James calls this an “anecdotal” story the owner plays for laughs. Putin soon weighs in dryly on this “complicated international problem.” He says, in fact, he doesn’t remember Kraft. But, Putin adds, if this ring is “so valuable,” he’s happy to make amends and order him some jewelry.

This was not the only puzzling intersection between sports and politics in 2013.

Dennis Rodman, of course, landed in the unlikely spot of North Korea. The former NBA star, for whom flamboyance is an understatement, was wined and dined during his mission of basketball diplomacy by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Rodman, who knows about winning titles with the Chicago Bulls, later seemed miffed he did not win the Nobel Peace Prize.

***

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came in peace to a Knicks game last January at Madison Square Garden. A courtside waitress stopped by to take orders, although it’s not clear if it was for the mayor. Stephen Jackson of the Spurs crashed into the waitress and left the game with a sprained ankle. Bloomberg shortly after was seen eating popcorn.

***

AP Photo/SANAIn this photo released by the Syrian official news agency, SANA, the damaged Ikhbariya TV compound is seen after it was attacked by gunmen, in in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, June 27, 2012.

The law found some players in curious spots, notably Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers star became entangled in a lawsuit involving his mother. At issue was whether a New Jersey auction house could sell some of his memorabilia his mother offered for sale. The parties settled, but there was this entry in court papers: “Mom, I never told you that you could have the memorabilia,” and Pamela Bryant responded, “Yes, but you never said you wanted it, either.”

Florida linebacker Antonio Morrison was charged under one of the more obscure laws on the books — barking at a police dog. According to authorities, Morrison was walking by an open window of a police car. He decided to bark at the dog; the dog decided to bark back. A deputy arrested Morrison. The charges were dropped, and it was acknowledged a warning to the barking player would have been more appropriate.

Two Australian Rules football players thought they’d have some good fun. Josh Caddy and Billie Smedts donned ski masks and broke into a teammate’s house. One problem: Caddy and Smedts were at the wrong address. Police, with guns drawn, soon arrested them.

***

Embarrassments, not just from pranks gone wrong, came in all forms.

The commissioner of Japanese baseball, Ryozo Kato, introduced a new, livelier ball. There was, however, an omission. He didn’t notify the players. Kato apologized and said he would have to “carefully reflect on my responsibility to the game.”

A fourth-division Brazilian soccer club was tossed from the playoffs after its masseur jumped on the field. The masseur, Romildo da Silva, took his spot in the vacated goal and proceeded to make two key saves. Opposing players chased him off the field, and police arrested him for his own protection.

Nigerian soccer had its own mess. Two lower-league games that ended in scores of 79-0 and 67-0 were found to be fixed. Lifetime player bans and team suspensions followed. The Nigerian federation decried the games as a “mind-boggling show of shame.”

***

Most athletes serve up boilerplate cliches in postgame comments. But some reveal perhaps more than they should.

Consider mixed-martial arts fighter Nick Diaz. While discussing his loss in a title bout in Montreal, he talked about his financial situation.

“I just have to invest a little bit more, now that I have a little bit more money,” he said. “You know what? I’ve never paid taxes in my life. I’m probably going to jail.”

Tennis star Richard Gasquet took a deep philosophical turn after his five-set loss to Stanislas Wawrinka at the French Open. When asked to describe where the pain from the defeat hurt most, he said: “In the soul, for sure.”

Sports promotions came in all sizes and tastes.

Kansas State lured fans to its women’s basketball opener by giving away 300 pounds of bacon. The Florence Freedom, a Kentucky minor league baseball team, saw the Manti Te’o fictional girlfriend story as too good to pass up. It was offering a bobblehead of the “girlfriend.” The boxes, however, would be empty. The minor league Lehigh Valley IronPigs enticed fans with a free funeral in a promotion the club said represented not outside-the-box thinking, but “inside the box.”

***

Sometimes, in sports, it’s all about luck. It sure didn’t start out that way for Mark Mihal. With winter ending, the mortgage broker was looking forward to the year’s first round of golf.

He was playing in Waterloo, Ill., outside St. Louis, and doing well. But while he was considering his next shot from the fairway of the 14th hole he plunged into an 18-foot sinkhole. He was trapped in darkness and mud, and screaming. It took about 20 minutes before his friends could yank him out with a rope.

Mihal wound up with a busted shoulder but knows it could have been a lot worse. He has played this layout many times. Now he wonders if he’ll be back.

“I love the course,” he says. “But I would have a tough time walking down that hole again.”

Contributing to this report were AP writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Jim Suhr and AP sports writer Mark Long

BEIJING — Former basketball star Dennis Rodman left North Korea on Monday, but he plans to return next month — even if a sponsor won’t be with him.

Rodman’s short visit was aimed at finalizing plans to bring 11 other former NBA players to Pyongyang for a Jan. 8 exhibition game marking Kim Jong-un’s birthday. The two struck up a friendship when Rodman first travelled to the secretive state earlier this year, but Rodman did not answer questions from the media on whether he had met with Kim this time.

Rodman is the highest profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power from his father in late 2011.

He wants to bring the group of players to Pyongyang for the exhibition, but has acknowledged that some of the Americans have been reluctant to come. He held tryouts for the North Korean team during his visit, which began Thursday. He has said he expects to announce the U.S. roster soon, and that he is planning another game in June.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham HughesGrandparents-to-be: Quebec Premier Jean Charest and wife Michelle Dionne arrive for an election debate on Tuesday.

Later Monday, though, Irish betting company Paddy Power PLC — a driving force behind the exhibition — said it had cut ties with Rodman.

“Given changed circumstances, Paddy Power has decided to withdraw its association with the Dennis Rodman basketball initiative in North Korea,” the company said in a statement.

Power explained his company’s decision in an email to The Associated Press.

“This isn’t a financial decision. We’ll be honouring all our contractual commitments to Dennis and his team,” he wrote. “We’ve reviewed the project, and with the benefit of hindsight, we’ve recognized we’ve got this one wrong.

Rodman declined to answer questions from reporters on his arrival at Beijing’s airport if the two met on his latest visit. On Sunday night, though, he told The Associated Press that he had not yet had a meeting with Kim. He arrived in North Korea on Thursday, a week after North Korea announced the execution of Kim’s once-powerful uncle, sparking speculation by foreign analysts over the future of the Kim regime.

Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty ImagesFormer NBA star Dennis Rodman (C) is mobbed by journalists on his arrival back from Pyongyang, at Beijing's international airport on December 23, 2013.

Rodman’s agent acknowledged Paddy Power’s decision, and also said the game is on track despite the recent execution of Kim’s uncle in a dramatic political purge.

“We’ve worked with Paddy Power on several occasions before and we respect their decision,” Darren Prince said. “We’d like to thank them for all their solid work helping to make Dennis’s dream of basketball diplomacy a reality.”

In accordance with the New York Times licensing agreement, this article has been removed. You can still view it on the New York Times ’ website.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-executed-his-uncle-over-lucrative-business-deals-south-korean-intelligence/feed2stdThis undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on December 16, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) visiting the August 25 Fisheries Station under Korean Peoples' Army (KPA) 313 Unit. Kim spent a whirlwind weekend making public appearances around the country which analysts said were intended to demonstrate his firm grip on power following the shock execution of his uncleDennis Rodman on criticism of his dealings with North Korea: ‘That’s not my problem, I can’t deal with that’http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nba/dennis-rodman-on-criticism-of-his-dealings-with-north-korea-thats-not-my-problem-i-cant-deal-with-that
http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nba/dennis-rodman-on-criticism-of-his-dealings-with-north-korea-thats-not-my-problem-i-cant-deal-with-that#commentsSun, 22 Dec 2013 19:31:05 +0000http://sports.nationalpost.com/?p=204879

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Dennis Rodman may not get to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his latest visit to the country, but he said that won’t stop him from coming back on Kim’s birthday next month to hold an exhibition game with other former basketball stars.

On the night before he was due to leave Pyongyang, Rodman told The Associated Press on Sunday that he had not yet had a meeting with Kim. The flamboyant Hall of Famer said that he didn’t expect to meet the leader every time he comes to North Korea, and that his current trip was for training North Korean basketball players who will take part in the match Rodman is organizing for Kim’s birthday on Jan. 8.

“I’m not just coming over here to meet the leader,” Rodman said. “I came over here to meet the basketball team, to prepare a great game for the leader for his birthday. And people need to understand that it’s not important for me to meet him every time I come over because he has another greater job to do for his country, and I respect that, but this trip was basically to come over to train the team, so we can have a great, great, game.”

Rodman has avoided politics in his dealings with the North and has steered clear of commenting on the country’s human rights record or its continued detainment of American Kenneth Bae for allegedly committing anti-state crimes.

“A lot of people in America don’t approve of what I’ve been doing, but that’s not my problem,” he said. “You know, a lot of people want me to come over here and do some special things, but that’s not my problem, I can’t deal with that, I’m not, I’m not an ambassador.”

Rodman’s visit comes just after the dramatic purge and execution of Kim’s once-powerful uncle, which has sparked speculation among some foreign analysts over how stable Kim’s regime is. But officials here say that there is no instability and that Kim remains firmly in control.

Rodman wants to bring 12 former NBA stars to Pyongyang for the exhibition, but has acknowledged that some of the Americans have been reluctant to come. He has held tryouts for the North Korean team during his visit, which began Thursday. He has said he expects to announce the U.S. roster soon, and that he is planning another game in June.

Rodman and Kim have struck up an unlikely friendship since the former NBA star travelled to the secretive state for the first time in February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television. Rodman is the highest-profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power from his father in late 2011.

To keep next month’s game friendly, Rodman said the former NBA players would take on the North Koreans in the first half, but that the teams would be mixed for the second half.

Many of us had forgotten Heather Mills. She was a one-time Mrs. Beatle, at least until her loud and furious divorce from Paul McCartney.

Mills has lost none of her sour bite, though. And she is back in the news again, courtesy of her unbridled temper.

While preparing for the Winter Paralympic Games, where the one-legged Mills was contending to compete as a member of the British Disabled Ski Team, she exploded at Sylvana Mestre, the technical head of the International Paralympic Committee, with cries of “You Bitch, You Bitch.” According to reports, she also had to be physically restrained from possibly attacking Ms. Mestre. (The point of contention, apparently, was whether the configuration of the ski boot Ms. Mills was wearing was kosher for international competition.)

Here in Canada, Ms. Mills will be remembered for the time in 2006 when she faced down the redoubtable Danny Williams on “Larry King Live.” She was raving about the fate of the North Atlantic seals, a favourite subject of globe-trotting celebrity activists.

This week, it was the turn of the ever-fading exhibitionist and mammary-morphing Pamela Anderson. She has entered the sad phase of every flesh-hawker’s career, when no quantity of silicone will halt the advance of time.

Anderson is joining with philanthropist Sam Simon (of “The Simpsons” fame) in offering a million dollars to stop the hunt. The Mother Theresa of Kentucky Fried Chicken (she once appeared on billboards, asking customers to boycott KFC until they improve their record on animal cruelty) got some attention from the million-dollar stunt this week. But most of us see her as a mere nuisance — worth little more than a paragraph or two of a pundit’s prose.

But what of Dennis Rodman? Once a famous ego-bloated basketball star, and always a vulgar lout, he is now doing real damage on the world stage. Unlike Ms. Mills and Ms. Anderson, he cannot be dismissed as a celebrity know-nothing with a head in the clouds.

Rodman is now headed on his third trip to pay homage to Kim Jong-Un, the murderous dictator of North Korea. Photographs of him hugging the panda-faced butcher are repulsive. According to Rodman, he will be spending five days in North Korea so that he can help train the country’s basketball team.

North Korea is a true land of nightmare. The barbaric gulags, and the defectors’ tales of harrowing punishments and torture, mark it as the most horrific rogue state on the planet — a 2013 version of Pol Pot’s Cambodia, the USSR in the time of Stalin, and Communist China during the cultural revolution. The new leader (no hesitating Hamlet is he) has just murdered his own uncle. But the homicide of close family members is the very least of his crimes.

And so what is Dennis Rodman doing, lending his dubious patronage to this regime, and parading his relationship with the butcher at its top? (Rodman has called Kim a “friend for life.”) Sometimes, the asinine attempts of C-listers to pace one more time on the world stage wanders into real evil. It surely does here.

The questions to be asked of Rodman: Where is the country to which he would not go? If a modern Hitler were to ask him to help his Brownshirt intramural squad with their rebounding, would he be game for that?

Rodman should be ostracized. He is a pander for the worst and cruelest nation in the world, the very last truly communist slaughterhouse.

We are all occasionally exasperated by the self-absorption and egotism of the famous and half-famous. But somewhere along the line, their antics cease even to resemble a joke. Mr. Rodman is the purest example of this. He is utterly contemptible.

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Former NBA star Dennis Rodman held tryouts Friday for a North Korean team to face a dozen NBA veterans in an exhibition game on leader Kim Jong-un’s birthday next month — though he hasn’t convinced all the players on the American team that it’s safe to come to Pyongyang.

The flamboyant Hall of Famer said plans for the Jan. 8 game are moving ahead but some of the 12 Americans he wants are afraid to come.

Some foreign analysts say the dramatic purge and execution of Kim’s once-powerful uncle less than a week ago has cast doubt on Kim’s future. But officials here say there is no instability and Kim remains firmly in control.

“You know, they’re still afraid to come here, but I’m just telling them, you know, don’t be afraid man, it’s all love, it’s all love here,” Rodman told The Associated Press after the tryouts at the Pyongyang Indoor Gymnasium. “I understand what’s going on with the political stuff, and I say, I don’t go into that venture, I’m just doing one thing for these kids here, and for this country, and for my country, and for the world pretty much.”

Rodman, who arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday, said he expects to announce the roster soon. He also said he is planning another game in June.

Rodman, wearing a pink button-down shirt and puffing on a cigar, watched as a couple dozen local players took to the basketball court for the tryouts. After the session, he told the players that each of the 12 he chooses will get two new pairs of tennis shoes.

When asked why he liked basketball, North Korean player Kim Un Chol told Rodman he started playing the game because he was impressed by it on TV, and said he also wants to be good at the sport because it is a favourite of leader Kim and his late father, Kim Jong-il.

Rodman asked all the players if they felt the same way. They nodded in unison.

David Guttenfelder/The Associated PressFormer NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman smokes a cigar as he watches North Korean basketball players during a practice session in Pyongyang, North Korea on Friday, Dec. 20, 2013.

“I want you guys to do one thing for your leader,” Rodman then told them. “It’s his birthday. It’s a very special, special day for the country.”

Rodman and Kim have struck up an unlikely friendship since he travelled to the secretive state for the first time in February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television.

He remains the highest-profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power from his father in 2011.

Known as much for his piercings, tattoos and bad behaviour as he was for basketball, Rodman has mostly avoided politics in his dealings with the North and has avoided commenting on the North’s human rights record or its continued detainment of American Kenneth Bae for allegedly committing anti-state crimes.

On Friday, he stressed that he hopes the game will be friendly, without political or nationalistic overtones.